A man convicted of raping three women in Massachusetts will serve two prison sentences consecutively.

Gary Irving, who fled the state to live a secret life in Maine, was sentenced to 36 to 40 years on Thursday in Norfolk Superior Court.

Advertisement

Irving watched as the court heard a video impact statement from a victim whose identity was blurred. She talked of trying suicide and being haunted for more than 30 years. Other victim's relatives gave impact statements as well.

“Her family was devastated to learn she went through such turmoil. Nobody deserves to have a child taken from them in a violent way,” read one victim’s niece.

Irving was a teenager when he was convicted of raping the three young women.

In one of the attacks, Irving was convicted of knocking a woman off her bike and bringing her to a secluded area, where he repeatedly raped her, according to Massachusetts State Police.

In another attack, he was convicted of forcing the victim into his car as she was walking and threatened to use a knife if she didn't comply.

“This defendant looked for young girls who were alone, who were 16-years of age,” said prosecutor Michele Armour.

Irving, who lived in Rockland, fled Massachusetts in 1979 after a judge allowed him to return home to make final arrangements before sentencing. He was on Massachusetts' Top 10 Most Wanted list for decades.

When authorities finally caught up with Irving in Maine in March, he was a 52-year-old man with a wife and two grown children.

Defense attorney Neil Tassel said Irving could have faced possible life in prison.